
A comparison photo of the shapes and sizes of transistors over time, ranging from the 1960s Black Glass (bottom left) to the 21st-century SOT-223 transistor (top right).
When it comes to vintage electronics, those contemporary to their release tend to see them as outdated, while the next generation has a different point of view. Here, our columnist dives deep into the subject.
Let’s begin this article with my memories from when I was a teenager, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. My father was an electronics wizard. He once built a 1000-watt tube pirate radio, and also my first guitar amplifier from a modified boombox. One day, while exploring his garage, I stumbled upon a dusty box labeled “Echo Device for Vocal.” To my surprise, I found two Matsushita MN3005 bucket-brigade delay integrated circuits (ICs) inside. As I’d been delving into the guitar world and its cults at that age, I felt like I had discovered a treasure! Even as early as the ’90s, analog delay was a vintage holy grail.
Afterward, I approached my father and said, “Dad, look, I found a made-in-Japan analog delay with authentic bucket-brigade delay ICs. Are you not using it anymore?” He simply replied, “Made-in-Japan is no good. You can use it if you want.”
Reflecting on that conversation, I realized something—we were two different generations living in distinct social circles. For me and perhaps my friends, Japanese-made gadgets from the ’80s were masterpieces, especially in the category of electronic musical instruments. Today, their value has surpassed their functional essence. In Indonesia, for instance, people buy made-in-Japan Boss products, not just to use, but as an investment! This also applies to products from Ibanez, Yamaha, Roland, Korg, and other vintage Japanese manufacturers. On the other hand, my father considered them to be items he no longer wanted, either due to his perception of their quality or because they were outdated. This generational and social-circle paradox slowly pulled me in, especially concerning the eternal debates like through-hole vs. SMD/SMT, silicon vs. germanium, vacuum tube vs. solid-state, vintage vs. modern, and, of course, analog vs. digital!
“In Indonesia, for instance, people buy made-in-Japan Boss products, not just to use, but as an investment.”
One day in 2019, I performed at an event after a long hiatus, and the event organizers asked me what equipment I would need onstage. I simply requested two sets of guitar amplifiers, specifically the Roland JC-120, as I wanted to crank up the volume. But the organizers were surprised by my request. One of them mentioned that I was the only performer who had asked for guitar amplifiers in the past few years. I thought it was just a joke, but I realized their honesty on the day of the event. Among the bands that performed, mine was the only one using conventional guitar amplifiers. It was the first time I truly witnessed a band performance where all the guitarists had adopted the “amp-less” stage concept. They tended to use amp simulators, whether digital or analog, and were perfectly comfortable without the presence of traditional guitar amplifiers, which have always been an emblem of rock ’n’ roll. Of course, the majority of the guitarists performing were 10 to 15 years younger than me. Now, I understand my father’s mindset from 25 years ago a little better.
Humans are a species that continues to evolve throughout time, always discovering new things, especially in technology. Let’s narrow the discussion down to musical instruments and related equipment. I can’t help but wonder, if super-compact DSP multi-effect stompboxes had been created in the 1950s, would we have the series of debates I mentioned earlier above? As a pedal effect builder, I strive to remain neutral. Nevertheless, I must be open to all possibilities regarding technological advancements.
We all live in a world that keeps on turning. Perhaps 20 years from now, my child will find NUX pedals in my storage and say, “Dad, you have a holy grail pedal from NUX; my friends will envy me!” Who knows? Well, after this, I will visit my father to enjoy a cup of coffee with him while listening to dangdut music from his super-slim smartphone. Now, I’m starting to think about hoarding and storing SMD/SMT components. Who knows, maybe my grandchild will consider them a holy grail 50 years from now.
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It’s almost over, but there’s still time to win! Enter Stompboxtober Day 30 for your shot at today’s pedal from SoloDallas!
The Schaffer Replica: Storm
The Schaffer Replica Storm is an all-analog combination of Optical Limiter+Harmonic Clipping Circuit+EQ Expansion+Boost+Line Buffer derived from a 70s wireless unit AC/DC and others used as an effect. Over 50 pros use this unique device to achieve percussive attack, copious harmonics and singing sustain.
Neil’s brother-in-law Billy’s Ovation, before Neil’s repairs.
Reader: Neil Crump
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Guitar: King of the Road
When his brother-in-law passed away, this reader made it his mission to repair his old damaged Ovation guitar as a gift to his niece.
My brother-in-law passed away in March. He was a talented keyboardist and, in his heyday, played in bands that toured internationally. As a musician, he naturally had a guitar—a 1974 Ovation—and a “friend” put an unauthorized abstract paint job on it. That guitar had an extremely hard life: Its top was broken and the frets were completely worn out. As an aspiring luthier, I took the guitar to repair it then pass it on to his daughter. This proved to be a challenging task as I had never done anything more complicated than a basic setup before and I had few luthier tools.
A heat gun and thin spatula knife worked fine to remove the top and the bridge. I did my best to glue the new top halves together—but that left a visible seam, so I put a herringbone center strip over it (to match the purfling I would install later). I had no radius board, so I just clamped the pre-radiused braces I bought and was quite pleased that the new top did have a radius! Once I felt the bridge was sanded perfectly, I glued it down. I then replaced the plastic nut and saddle with bone. A hot soldering iron got the old frets out without damaging the fingerboard. (That said, next time I will clean those slots out better before installing new frets!)
“This proved to be a challenging task as I had never done anything more complicated than a basic setup before and I had few luthier tools.”
I was happy with my progress until I started routing the purfling channel. I had no workbench, and the concave Ovation body made things a bit awkward. While basically “bear hugging” the body with one arm and holding the router with the other, I heard a faint “pop.” The edge of an X-brace had come loose. I was able to squirt glue into the void with a syringe, but the concave guitar body made a brace jack useless (without fabricating a complicated caul). I removed the phono jack and jammed a pencil into the brace, keeping pressure on it with a rubber band. It worked!
Neil gave the Ovation a new lease on life with his extensive repairs, the end result of which can be seen here.
I also learned the importance of channel depth with purfling—I did lots of scraping to get everything flush. I am pleased with the finished product and my niece is so happy! I also put a new label inside the guitar body, with a dedication to her father on it.
Overall, there are multiple wins on this project. I gave tribute to my brother-in-law, made his daughter happy, and learned enough to build a guitar from scratch.
Two horns? It must be a Bison!
Our columnist links a few memories together to lead us to another obscure guitar model—one he remembers from his childhood and came to acquire as an adult.
Do you have any “click and stick” movies that you love? Like when you are channel surfing and see a movie that you’ve watched a lot, and then just watch it again? Lately, for me, it’s been the 2015 movie The Revenant. It’s a truly brutal tale of survival set in 1820s frontier America. My gosh, that movie just draws me in every time. There’s one scene where the main character goes flying off a cliff while riding a horse! He just sort of falls/rolls through a pine tree and lands in the snow … and he still survives! It’s crazy!
It makes me think about an old childhood friend who lived up the street from me. Jerry and his parents lived in an old house on their grandparents’ large plot of land. On one part of the land there was an old orchard filled with all types of fruit trees and pines, and I remember how we would climb to the top of the pines and just roll ourselves down the side, Revenant style! If you fell the right way, the branches would kind of gently let you down to the next, but if you hit it wrong and got in between the branches, you’d be wrecked. It’s like we enjoyed getting hurt, and, of course, when you’re young, you can snap right back. Ah, the days when pain really didn’t hurt. Now I wake up with injuries, for real.
“The action was way high and the fret ends were sharp. It was basically a painful affair.”
So why am I talking about my click-and-stick movie and stupid childhood escapades? Well, let’s get back to memories of my old friend Jerry. First, the house he lived in was so old that it had real wooden siding, but it hadn’t been painted in forever so the exterior took on a worn, faded, haunted house vibe. Second, his carpet was so tattered that it was being held together with duct tape. Lastly, I remember his dad had a cool, old electric guitar in the living room. His dad would let me play it sometimes, and I remember that it actually hurt to play! The action was way high and the fret ends were sharp. It was basically a painful affair. Not falling-out-of-a-tree painful, but as bad as it comes with guitars. It had the label “Conrad,” and young Frank didn’t realize that he’d be looking for that guitar again one day. I mean, it did have four pickups and lots of knobs and switches!
Made at the old Japanese Matsumoko factory in the ’60s, this Conrad Bison 1233 has four pickups and a 27" scale.
Years later, I would discover that his was a Conrad Bison guitar. The model came in a few different configurations, but the four-pickup design was designated as the 1233. Primarily featuring a lovely sunburst, these Bisons were made at the amazing old Matsumoku factory in Japan and were imported by the David Wexler Company that was based in Chicago. Matsumoku always had a good supply of aged wood, and many of the guitars made there are resonant and built well. The Bisons first appeared around 1966 and had a rather good run into the early ’70s.
Simple volume/tone knobs are paired with preset solo/rhythm switches that power alnico magnets. There’s an on/off switch for each pickup, and the sound really covers all the bases. Thumpy lows and crisp highs are all there. And, the pickups handle fuzz and distortion with ease. The Bisons also came in one- and two-pickup configurations with a normal scale, but the four-pickup ones have a longer, 27" scale, which is common for Matsumoku-made electrics.
So there it is: pain, survival, American frontier, Bison, haunted houses. It all sticks together like a duct-taped carpet. Click and stick, baby!
A 1000-watt speaker cabinet crafted for musicians who demand power and precision. Sunn Amps intends to reinvent the standard 4x12 configuration with the introduction of this new cabinet.
The Sunn Amps DoomBox is built to accommodate both guitar and bass, offering an impressive 1000-watt handling capacity—making it the first commercially available 4x12 cabinet with such high power handling. With four specially designed 12” drivers rated at 250 watts each, this cabinet provides clean, unrestrained sound levels that can maintain power integrity across all frequencies, ideal for high-volume performances.
Inspired and developed using feedback from artists and bands who rely on the depth of lower tunings and high volume genres, the DoomBox was engineered to meet the unique demands of professional musicians looking for a robust, high-efficiency cab that can translate the raw power of their sound without compromise.
Premium Craftsmanship and Materials
The Doom Box cabinet is crafted from solid finger-jointed Baltic Birch plywood, ensuring both durability and tonal clarity. Each cabinet is constructed by hand in the U.S.A. using original 1930s machinery, the DoomBox reflects Sunn’s historic commitment to quality, contrasting with some of the mass-produced, MDF-based cabinets on the market today. The cabinet’s aluminum basket, ferrite magnet, and custom Sunn weave Tolex with a custom grill design complete its professional-grade build.
Technical Specifications:
• Power Handling: 1000W
• Inputs: 1 x ¼”
• Impedance: 8 Ohm
• Drivers: 4 x Sunn 12S250
• Construction: Marine Grade Baltic Birch
• Dimensions: 29.25” X 30” X 14”
• Weight: 107 lbs
• Price: $2399.00
With clear low-end punch, even sound response, and ample air movement, the Doom Box ensures that every note reaches the audience with clarity and power. This cabinet is a game-changer for musicians who need high-performance, road-ready equipment that enhances their unique sound.